22 A series of events

Long He frowned when he heard the system's claims, "Waterswift Ability?"

Ding.

[Yes host. Those abilities can be gained through practice and killing. You have currently gained such an ability.]

"Not bad!" He then continued in his practice, this time in a land of fire.

March 20, year 4202, planet Aquahelios.

Quickly, the year passed, and Long He was still in his own virtual world. However, He wasn't the only one.

Long He has permitted his demigods to retake the trials. It is more of a practice than a test. He wanted them to have more experience. If he himself gained that experience, then nothing would be said about the demigods'.

On this day, Long He exited the virtual world, as well as his demigods. They all appeared to be exhausted, but they stood respectfully while waiting for Long He to speak.

Finally, the god said, "All of us, including me, benefited from these tests. I hope that you will be able to fight well in the upcoming war. You can go now, but make sure that you are ready at any moment."

The demigods of Aquahelios, a total of 50, dropped on their knees and shouted in unison, "As you wish, god!"

Long He nodded to them, then entered his palace. He went to find his parents to bid them farewell. It was time to go to war!

Yi'er had tears in her eyes, embracing Long He hard. She found it unbearable if her son dies.

As a man, Shen Hu tried not to shed tears. However, he couldn't stand it anymore, and a drop fell on his cheek. The father and son hugged, and patted each other's back.

"Make us proud, son!" said Shen Hu, putting his hands on his son's shoulders.

"I will, father!" Long He then flew out of planet Aquahelios to reach a gloomy, dark, and small planet.

There were no buildings on this planet, that is said for the upper-ground. A hole, only big enough to fit 10 people, was the only thing seen on the surface. It led to an underground cave, which had only one room.

Long He entered the room, barely seeing anything. The room was shrouded in thick fog, preventing the person to see anything.

He took a step forward on the wooden floor, and a cracking noise could be heard. Long He stopped immediately, fearing that someone is following him, or he has stepped on something important.

Suddenly, candles started to lit one after the other. Torches, which hang on the walls, ignited fire. This has allowed Long He to at least see what was in front of him.

As the light shone, Long He saw a creepy skeleton corpse sitting on skull decorated chair. Skulls of various of forms and shapes spread everywhere on the ground, along with other corpses gripping their heads.

'Oh my….' he thought, 'Did they die from losing their sanity?' There were also empty potion bottles, old tattered parchment papers, cages…

Long He slowly marched towards the seated corpse, the oracle, but once again he stopped. The smoke that the candles produced flew to the oracle's nostrils, then it moved its skeletal mouth and said in a creepy, ghost voice, "I am the spirit of Yotz, speaker of the prophecies of the Milky Way universe. Approach seeker, and ask!"

Long He hesitated a bit, but then he summoned up his courage and said, "I want to know something in particular."

"The future?"

"Before knowing the future, I need to know the past," he took a deep breath then continued, "Who were the first ones that Ilah took as an enemy?"

"Before the father god created humans, there was a race that was called the Genies. A particular one of this race was favored by Ilah, named Iblis, whom he gave the position of a devil.

"When the first human couples on planet Earth were created, Ilah sorted them into the realm of Heaven. However, he also sent Iblis on a trial, to find a way to remove them from their. Iblis succeeded, and the humans descended to planet Earth. Those two humans where the first enemies of Ilah.

"However, the future generations of humans continued to worship the father god no matter what the first humans have done."

Long He digested these informations for some time. After a long time of silence, he said, "What will the future hold for me?"

"You shall…" Before the spirit of Yotz could continue the prophecy, she inhaled sharply and closed her mouth without saying anything else.

Long He frowned at the seen before him. He had already guessed what had happened with the oracle of Yotz, but he needed to confirm them.

"System," he said, "Scan the condition of the oracle."

Ding.

[As you wish host.]

Ding.

[Scan in progress.]

After a while, the notification ring of the system was heard again.

[The spirit of the oracle of Yotz has been ripped off by a powerful source.]

"Could it be Ilah?"

[There is a high possibility that the father god would be responsible for this. After all, he is the most powerful being in the universe.]

"Let's go, the others have to know this."

…

On planet Ancient Oak Grove, the gods alliance  and their armies prepared themselves. Facing the alliance, the forces of Ilah stood ready.

At the very front, an old man with gray long hair stood proudly. He was Ilah, the father god, and the ruler of the universe!

Behind him stood the god-beast, Sabertooth, and 9 others. They were the sons of Ilah.

Long He landed beside Uion and his friends, followed by his demigods. He approached the sea god and whispered in his ears, "The oracle of Yotz is dead."

"Are you joking?" said Uion, not believing a word that Long He has just said.

"I don't joke on serious things, and this is one. She was about to tell me a prophecy but then she was killed."

"Do you know who did this?"

"Logically, it would be Ilah."

"I agree with you on this. The oracle is a goddess after all. Even though it reveals the future for all the gods, she is still under the rule of Ilah."

"How could he kill her?"

"The systems are connected to his, so he could easily kill someone of his servants through them."

"What do you suggest now?"

"We have no choice but to engage in this war. Even if we try to escape, our fate will be death."

Long He wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Vomir, who said, "What are you two whispering about?"

"Nothing you need to concern yourself about," came Uion's sharp answer.

"Hmph!"

Suddenly, drums could be heard. All fell silent, they knew exactly what this signified. These were the drums of war!

"It is a trap!" said Long He loudly, finally realizing what would happen.

"Nonsense!" shouted Vomir. "How many wars have you fought, eh?"

Long He looked at Uion for support, but the sea god didn't even bat an eye. Uion took a deep breath then shouted, loudly enough for all the gods to hear, "CHARGE!"